Time Warner to split off AOL

CNN Money ^ | May 28, 2009 | Aaron Smith

[Zakeet]

Time Warner unveiled plans Thursday to spin off AOL as an independent company, an end to the massive media media marriage formed in 2001.

"We believe that a separation will be the best outcome for both Time Warner and AOL," said Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500) chief executive Jeff Bewkes, in a prepared statement.

The 2001 merger between AOL and Time Warner was applauded at the time as a visionary attempt to meld old media with new media. But synergies between the two never materialized.

[Snip]

Bewkes said that an independent AOL will "have a better opportunity to achieve its full potential as a leading independent Internet company."

[Zakeet]

A bit of MSM history ...

In 2000, a new company called AOL Time Warner, with Steve Case as chairman, was created when AOL purchased Time Warner for US$164bn.

After the merger, the profitability of the ISP division (America Online) decreased. Meanwhile, the market valuation of similar independent internet companies drastically fell. As a result, the value of the America Online division dropped significantly. This forced a goodwill write-off, causing AOL Time Warner to report a loss of $99 billion in 2002 — at the time, the largest loss ever reported by a company. In 2003, the company dropped the "AOL" from its name, and removed Steve Case as executive chairman in favor of Richard Parsons, with AOL remaining a part of the company. That same year, Time Warner spun off Time-Life's ownership under the legal name Direct Holdings Americas, Inc. Case resigned from the Time Warner board on October 31, 2005.

On December 27, 2007 newly installed Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes discussed possible plans to spin-off Time Warner Cable and sell-off AOL and Time Inc. This would leave a smaller company made up of Turner Broadcasting, Warner Bros and HBO. On February 28, 2008 co-chairmen and co-CEOs of New Line Cinema Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne announced their resignations from the 40-year-old movie studio in response to Jeffrey Bewkes's demand for cost-cutting measures at the studio, which he intended to dissolve into Warner Bros.

[4rcane]

what is aol business model?
spam free internet cd in ppl’s letterbox
buy good companies and then sit on them, turning them into shit

[Red Badger]

[Red in Blue PA]

Well, that merger destroyed billions in market cap and was utterly worthless.

Pay them execs a few hundred million more.

Why are these people NEVER held accountable?

[Moonman62]

AOL made money by refusing to let people cancel their subscriptions.

[Brookhaven]

AOL took Time/Warner to the bank. They merged, the dot-com bubble burst, and AOL was worth a fraction of what it was at the time of the merger.

AOL would probably already be out of business if they hadn’t of merged. This is the company that bought Netscape, then almost the next day declard IE to be their offical web browser (making their Netscape investment worthless.)

[PGR88]

AOL Time Warner - possibly the worst business merger ever?

[mallardx]

A short history of bad decisions:

1) Adam takes apple from Eve

2) Time Warner merges with AOL

3) America elects an anti-American, anti-Business, Socialist Marxist to the Presidency.

The End - really.

[Eagles2003]

It’s easy to see they are failing, they haven’t sent a CD to me for years. Haven’t seen a 3 1/2” floppy since the ‘90s.

Used to love those freebie flopppies.

[edzo4]

so when Ted Turner said this deal was better than sex, what he meant was is was better than sex with jane fonda

[ReignOfError]

4) The Braves trade Brett Butler and Brook Jacoby for Len Barker.

[ReignOfError]

AOL Time Warner - possibly the worst business merger ever?

It was a great deal for AOL stockholders -- they got something out of the inflated stock price before the bubble burst. TW shareholders got royally screwed.

[bruinbirdman]

"Even with that and the break with AOL, Time Warner will remain one of the largest media companies in the world, with cable networks, magazines and a movie studio. It is also the parent of CNNMoney.com. "

Conveniently left out of the CNN article is the fact that after Time-Warner splits off the loser AOL, it will begin the process of unloading their other money hole, Time Inc.. Give that stand alone fossil about a year.

yitbos